Chapter 3 - THE NAME SCRATCHED INTO THE METALThe strange thing about Ranger's kennel was the scratch marks.
At first, everyone assumed they came from an anxious dog.
Nora knew better.
They were symbols.
Three horizontal lines.
A triangle.
Two short cuts.
She stared for a long time.
Marcus noticed.
“What?”
“Someone taught him this.”
“Taught him what?”
Nora touched the metal.
“An alert code.”
“For what?”
“Danger.”
She looked at Ranger.
“Show me.”
Ranger stared.
Nora tapped the kennel twice.
Then paused.
Ranger moved to the far wall.
He scratched once.
Twice.
Three times.
Then pointed toward the storage corridor.
Marcus's face changed.
They searched the corridor.
Behind a stack of unused crates was a maintenance panel.
Inside was a small transmitter.
Active.
Hidden.
Listening.
Someone had been monitoring Ranger.
For eleven days.
Maybe longer.
Marcus brought it to Holloway.
The admiral's expression turned grim.
“Who installed this?”
“Unknown.”
“Can you trace it?”
“Trying.”
Nora stood silently.
Holloway looked at her.
“You know what this means.”
“Yes.”
“Someone is still interested in that dog.”
“Not the dog.”
She looked at Ranger.
“The evidence.”
“What evidence?”
Nora hesitated.
Then whispered,
“The mission wasn't a weapons operation.”
Holloway's face hardened.
“Explain.”
“The weapons cache didn't matter.”
“What did?”
“Who paid for it.”
Silence.
Nora explained that before the explosion, she had seen a list inside the building.
Bank accounts.
Corporate names.
Political donations.
Military contractors.
The list proved someone was using legitimate companies to fund illegal weapons shipments.
She had photographed one page.
Ranger had been trained to find the storage location.
The explosion happened before she could retrieve the rest.
Holloway stared.
“Do you still have the photograph?”
“No.”
“Where is it?”
Nora looked at Ranger.
“He had it.”
Everyone looked at the dog.
Ranger lowered his head.
Nora crouched.
“Show them.”
She touched the collar.
Ranger turned.
There was a thicker section beneath the leather.
Nora opened it.
Inside was a narrow waterproof capsule.
The room went silent.
Holloway opened it.
Inside was a memory card.
Marcus stared.
“How did you know?”
Nora smiled sadly.
“Because I made the collar.”
The memory card contained seven photographs.
Not one.
Seven.
The first showed the weapons warehouse.
The second showed three men.
The third showed an unmarked military vehicle.
The fourth showed Colonel Adrian Vale.
The fifth showed a civilian businessman.
The sixth showed someone Nora recognized.
Admiral Holloway.
The seventh showed Marcus Vance.
Silence.
Nora stared at the screen.
“No.”
Marcus stepped closer.
“That's not possible.”
Holloway's face went cold.
The image showed both men standing beside the same weapons shipment.
A date.
Three years earlier.
The night of Nora's mission.
Nora looked at them.
“Were you both there?”
Neither answered.
Then Holloway said,
“Yes.”
May you like
Marcus whispered,
“Not for the reason you think.”
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